beetlejuice beetlejuice

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Directed by Tim Burton

The ghost with the most is BACK! The sequel I have quite literally been waiting my entire (36 years!) life for is here. Somehow it's NOT dumped on Netflix but an actual legit theatrical event. The entire main cast (minus the ones that have passed away or became a convicted pedophile) are back. But quite possibly most important is that after spending the last 10+ years delivering mediocre projects it seems that director Tim Burton has got his groove back.

There's a busy plot going on involving the return of BJ's first wife, a literal soul sucking vamp played with absolute aplomb by current Burton girlfriend and muse Monica Bellucci. We also have the Deetz returning to the old house for a family event and the fractured relationship between Winona Ryder and her onscreen daughter played by Jenna Ortega. Catherine O'Hara is also back as artist stepmother Delia and possibly earns the most laughs throughout the entire shindig. Willem Dafoe as a ghost cop off to the sides in his own movie also delivered constant belly laughs whenever he appeared.

The movie is uninterested in the plot mechanics and villains and uses them only to go from gag to gag and I am thrilled to announce this might be Burton's funniest movie ever (?), at least in a very very long time. The cast and crew during production and promotion kept emphasizing the use of practical effects and makeup but I was skeptical. Could the Tim Burton that pretty much gave all that up for shoddy ugly CGI really go back to puppets and animatronics? Well, yes! There is so much imagination and gore and truly macabre jokes I couldn't believe some of the stuff they got away with.

Of course the movie doesn't work without our titular character and Michael Keaton (an American treasure) slips back into the makeup and costume like no time has passed. You can feel the glee on screen and behind the camera and that makes for a very fun wild ride. I've seen some people write this off as more nostalgia bait like the recent abysmal Ghostbusters sequels and I disagree wholeheartedly. The movie shows genuine restraint when they could have easily just remade and redone every joke from the original. To say more would go into spoilers and I'm not that kind of film critic. 

Dust off some of your Donna Summer cuz The Juice is Loose!

⭐⭐⭐1/2 out of 4